Orange Road: Government Financial Aid

Let me get right to the thing I think you are thinking about federal student aid, I bet you DO qualify financially. I thought that our family made too much money (heck, we're not wealthy, but we are certainly not living in poverty), when in fact I qualified for a Pell Grant - FREE Money!

This may seem like the obvious starting point to going back to school, but I didn't know how to apply. I suppose I just assumed I would qualify for any kind of financial aid, especially the kind that doesn't have to be paid back. The fact of the matter is there is TONS of money out there for the taking.

Visit FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) here. When I first googled FAFSA I got a site that looked legit and I went through the whole process (took almost an hour and you do need info from your tax returns - last two years) and at the end there was a request for my credit card to pay $70 to review and submit the application. I thought that was weird for Free Application for Federal Student Aid - turns out it is a company that reviews applications - I was on the wrong site. It was free and between FAFSA and the financial aid office at your school, you will have all the help you need. You can get to the correct site by clicking my link above or you can type in www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Paying Cont. Orange Road - Scholarship Contests & Sweepstakes

Being a winner of many contests myself, this was one avenue I was glad to find! It's free money if you can get it and for me, it's fun trying. From what I can tell, this Orange Road varies from the standard ways of evaluating applications for other scholarships - this is more random and depending on the contest marketing and length of the contest, your odds may better or worse. It is my way of thinking that you can't win if you don't play so put your entry in and if you win, whoo-hoo!

*Scholarship contests and sweepstakes typically won’t ask for your academic achievements, standardized test scores or financial needs, but they’re also more competitive because they’re so easy to apply for and winners are usually chosen at random. Your chances of winning in a contest or sweepstakes vary widely, based on the number of applicants who enter each drawing. Requirements may be as simple as sending off an email or completing an online form, and you won’t be asked to come up with an essay on why you’re deserving of the free money.

The more specific you are in your search, the better your chances of landing scholarship money because the pool of applicants gets smaller as your search gets more specialized. But someone has to win in these scholarship contests and sweepstakes, so if it isn’t too time-consuming, you’re feeling lucky, and the site you found is legitimate, consider applying for a chance to land one of these awards. Remember, however, to beware of scholarship scams. While many contests and sweepstakes will ask you to fill out online forms in order for you to be eligible for the awards, you should never have to pay a processing fee to win money. Check out our examples of scholarship contests and sweepstakes that we think may we worth a shot.

* This information was taken directly from Scholarships.com Visit their website for a wealth of information.

Formally Or Not So Much?

There are many ways to get an education, simply learning something new by watching someone else do it is educational. In my earlier post, I asked you to clarify for yourself what kind of education you are looking for and what you want to learn.

You can learn on the job, through intern programs, by going to the library and getting a book or series of books on a specific subject, taking certificate courses at specialized school, even online schools are an option. All of this and more are ways to further your breadth of knowledge outside of attending a junior college or University. If you are eager to learn, you can see that there are many, many options.

Did you decide what you want to study and why? I did. I'm going to get back to school via a community college and I have declared my major as AA in Communication. Let's look at what I'm doing 25 years out of high school and how I'm doing it, in addition to as many other Orange Roads as we can muster this month!